I. Field of the Invention
The disclosed embodiments relate to the field of data communications. More particularly, the disclosed embodiments relate to a novel method and apparatus for efficient use of the communication resources in a data communication system under overload condition.
II. Background
A communication system for communication of data may reach its capacity due to many different factors. The communication system may have an access network, a packet switched data network, and a number of access terminals. The access terminal and the access network, while complying with a number of communication protocols, establish and maintain a connection for communication of data. The connection between the access terminal and the access network may be over a wireless link. The flow of data may be from access terminal to access network, or from access network to access terminal, or both. The access terminal may be connected to a computing device such as a lap top personal computer, or may be a self-contained data device such as a personal digital assistant. A mobile unit such as a cellular phone may also be an access terminal. An access terminal and an access network may communicate through a forward link, originated from the access network, and a reverse link, originated from the access terminal.
The access network may reach its capacity due to several factors depending on the type of technology employed. Generally, depending on the number of users and the users' demand for data communication, an access network may reach its capacity. The intensity of the user's demand for data flow depends on the application and the type of data being communicated. The applications may include downloading data files, Internet web browsing, audio/video streaming, transaction-oriented applications such as commerce transactions, playing games, etc. The type of data may include documents, images, audio/video, etc. In a congested state or an overload condition, new users attempting to access the access network may be denied access due to lack of available resources. Although such a blocking scheme may be appropriate for voice networks, in data networks, a user may prefer to have a connection with slow data flow rather than no connection at all.
Generally, to this end and as well as others, there exists a need in the art for an efficient use of communication resources in a communication system under overload condition, which allows the users to access the network even though the use of the communication resources has reached a congested level.